Technology has revolutionised education in making learning more accessible, interactive and efficient, however has led to the rise in distractions and reduced focus. In other words, it’s really a hit or miss situation.
As a result of this distractions have increased and led parents and teachers on edge. With phones and laptops being highly accessible, it places students into a new world, one that leads them away from their educational responsibilities. This has lead to the constant itch to check new notifications and our phones at any chance throughout the day, as students struggle to maintain focus during school, tutoring sessions and study. By being so deep into the technological world attention span is reduced, just as marks follow this trend.
However, there are positives. Technology has most certainly played an important part in pulling students in, keeping them engaged in order to fulfil their academic requirements. As new interactive ways to teach and access content are brought into the picture, a variety of teaching methods rather than straight textbook notes are adapted, such as videos and virtual simulations. It enables personalised learning to enhance ones struggles and provide extra support through practice quizzes and tutorials. Resources used to communicate with students such as google classroom promote a positive learning environment, however how often are students really checking it. Although there a tonne of positives, within this generation the negatives are catching up. When technology is used effectively, it enhances learning, improves collaboration, however challenges such as screen addictions and the alternative social world are still present.
On one hand technology enhances learning, engagement and accessibility allowing for students to learn at their own pace using adaptive learning methods; On the other hand the distractions of social media, over reliance on AI and digital tools create a divide in perspective that cannot be ignored, raising the question: do the benefits truly outweigh the drawbacks?
David Hanna
